Folding chair with arms



Oct. 16, 1962 Filed Dec. 6, 1960- R. L. PANICCI FOLDING CHAIR WITH ARMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RICHARD L. PANICCI ATTORNEY.

Oct. 16, 1962 Filed Dec. 6, 1960 R. L. PANICCI 'FOLDING CHAIR WITH ARMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RICHARD L. PANICCI ATTORNEY.

3,5%,7?3 Patented Oct. 16, 1952 3,658,773 FOLDING CHABR WITH ARMS Richard L. Panicci, Westfield, Mass, assignor to Hampden Specialty Products Corporation, Easthampton, Mass, a corporation Filed Dec. 6, 1964), Ser. No. 74,045 1 Claim. (Cl. 297--35) The present invention relates generally to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in folding and collapsible chairs and is directed particularly to a folding chair having arm rests interconnected with the other chair components in manner whereby same may be moved into and out of the folded or collapsed or nonoperative position simultaneously with corresponding movements of the other chair components.

The invention resides in the particular construction, arrangement, combination, and relationship of the various components of a foldable arm chair, as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure wherein the below defined objects of the invention will be apparent.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a bracket means whereby the chair legs, seat and arm rests are so interconnected as to permit a smooth and easy chair folding and unfolding.

A further object hereof is to provide a chair which may be collapsed into a comparatively fiat, compact form whereby the various components are positioned closely adjacent each other, with the seat, legs, back and arm rests being disposed essentially in parallelism.

Another object is to provide a durable chair which may be readily and compactly folded or collapsed so as to occupy a minimum amount of space with the parts being folded substantially in the normal plane of the so-called main frame.

Still another object is to provide a folding chair having arms which swing into the normal plane of the chair when same is in folded position.

Another object is to provide a chair having a main frame, the lower ends of which provide front legs for the chair, rear legs pivotally linked to the main frame, a seat pivotally connected to a pair of brackets, each of which brackets is pivotally connected to the adjacent front leg, a pair of arm rests pivotally connected to thebrackets by means of a pair of forward supports and pivotally connected to the rear legs by means of a pair of rearward supports for causing the arm rests to swing upwardly in unison into the normal plane of the main frame when the chair is in folded position.

Another object is to provide a seat which is independently collapsible.

Another object is to provide a chair having front and rear legs and a foldable seat with means being provided for supporting the seat when same is in the extended position and for operatively engaging the seat when the chair is moved into the collapsed position.

Broadly stated, the invention envisions in general a chair having a main frame, the lower ends of which provide front legs for the chair. Rear legs are pivotally linked to the main frame at the sides thereof. A seat is pivotally mounted upon a seat bracket disposed on each side of the seat, each seat bracket being pivotally connected to the respective adjacent front leg and rear leg, it being noted that the seat is directly pivoted neither to the front legs nor to the rear legs. The back rest is operatively connected to the top of the main frame. Arm rests are provided on each side of the seat and are disposed upwardly thereof in normal manner when the chair is in the operative position. All of the components are so interrelated by the means of the invention to permit the chair to be folded or collapsed from operative position in substantially the normal plane of the main frame. By merely bringing the front and rear legs together, the entire chair may be collapsed into substantially the normal plane of the main frame.

In the following description and in the appended claim, various components and details thereof are identified by specific names for purposes of convenience. Such specific terms and expressions are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. They are intended to be as generic in their application as the art will permit, there being no intention in their use to exclude any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, various modifications being recognized as entirely possible within the scope and spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, selected embodiments of the invention are illustrated, and the views therein are as follows:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a chair embodying the construction of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the chair shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan view of one of the pivotal bracket means of the invention with the seat of the chair being shown in the raised position;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a chair embodying the construction of the invention with the components being shown in the folded or collapsed condition;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the chair shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevational view of one of the pivotal bracket means of the structure of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevational view of a modified form of the pivotal bracket means wherein the arm support is shown as being pivoted to the main frame of the chair.

With continued reference to the drawings, I have shown an inverted Y type of folding chair, which is kept symmetrical about the reference line AA in FIG. 4, and includes a pair of supporting front legs 2 provided by an inverted U-shaped main frame having parallel sides or rails and being closed at one end as by a generally curved intermediate back-supporting portion 3, as is known. Supporting rear legs 4 of a pair are each interconnected with one of the front legs 2 of the pair thereof. A seat frame 6 is disposed between the spaced front legs 2 and the spaced rear legs 4'. The back 8 is fixed to the generally curved intermediate or yoke portion of the inverted U-shaped main frame. Arm rests 1-0 of a pair thereof are disposed at opposite sides of seat frame 6 and upwardly thereof when the chair is in the conventional open or operating or seating position.

The seat, back and arm rests of the chair may be provided with appropriate and conventional padding material or upholstery 11 for the increased comfort of the chair occupant.

The legs, seat, arm rests and back preferentially will be formed from light-weight metal stock which is easily shaped, although the chair may be fabricated from other materials, if desired, without departing from the spirit or scope hereof.

The front and rear legs 2 and 4 of each pair are pivotally interconnected by guide links 12 with each guide link being pivoted to a respective rear leg at 13 and to a related front leg at 14, substantially as shown, whereby said front and rear legs may be folded or collapsed as to each other.

A cross brace or rung 15 extends between front legs 2 in interconnecting manner, and a similar cross brace or rung 15 joins rear legs 4, thereby imparting added strength to the chair construction and further offering treadle means for chair manipulation.

Seat frame 6, at each of its sides, is nested upon a seat bracket 16, which seat bracket is pivotally mounted thereon at 17. V g p Each seat bracket 16 is disposed relative to the front and rear legs at the respective sides of the chair and is pivoted approximately centrally thereof to said front leg at 13 and is pivoted adjacent its rearward end to said rear leg at 20.

It will be thus appreciated that the seat is not directly pivoted to the front or rear legs. Rather it is pivoted to the seat brackets at points substantially intermediate the points of pivotal connection of the seat bracket to the respective front and rear legs.

Each seat bracket do is provided with a lowermost laterally and inwardly extending flanged edge or lip 22 which underlies the adjacent side of the seat 6 in the assemblage and supports same in the opened or extended or seating position. v

A cushion or bumper 23 of suitable resilient material may be fixed to the upper planar surface of said flanged edge or lip 22 for the functions of deadening the sound of contacting components and of preventing marring or scratching by the seat frame as same is brought into contacting position with said seat brackets 16.

Each arm rest it} is supported by and pivotally connected to pairs of forward and rearward supports 24 and 26 respectively whichextend upwardly from each seat bracket is and from each rear leg 4 respectively.

The forward supports 24 of the pair thereof are interconnected at their lower extremities by and are unitary with a transverse cross brace 28 disposed beneath seat 6 and extendable through depending forward support brack ets 3t fixed to the lower planar surface of the flange 22 of each of the seat brackets v16.

The rearward supports as of the pair are each fixed at their lower ends to a respective rear leg 4 by the pivot pin 2% and by bolts 31 or equivalent means. Their upper portions are offset relative to their lower portions to be vertically alignable with and thus adequately support the respective arm rests at the upper extremities thereof.

Each forward support 24 is pivotally connected at its upper extremity to the respective arm rest by means of a transversely extending pin 3-2 or equivalent means fixed to said arm rest at the forward portion thereof.

Each rearward support 26 is pivotally connected at its upper extremity to the respective arm rest by means of another transversely extending pin 34 or equivalent means fixed to said arm rest at the rearward portion thereof.

The arm rests 1t), It the forward supports 2 24, and the cross brace 28 therebetween, the rearward supports 26, 26, the seat brackets 16, 16, and the appropriate pivotal connections will be identified as the arm rest unit of the construction.

The arm rest unit will be observed not to be pivotally connected directly to the main frame. With the chair in seating position, said unit envisions, relative to the balance of the chair structure, a pivotal connection at the forward support brackets 39 fixed to and depending from the seat brackets 16 and lying in a common axis forwardly of the median plane through the chair and a second pivotal connection at the pivots between the rearward supports and the arm rests and lying in a common axis substantially normal to the median plane through the chair.

In practice, the chair components may be moved to the folded or collapsed positions of FIGS. 4 and by grasping either one or both of the arm rests it), and by exerting an upward pulling force thereon whereupon the arm rests of the pair will pivot upon the respective pins 32 and 34 connected to the respective supports 24 and 26 while the cross brace 28, joining the spaced supports 24, will urge the seat 6 to pivot upon the pivots 1'7 and the seat brackets 16 of the pair to pivot relative to the front legs at 18 and relative to the rear legs at Zll.

By the application of continued pressure, the seat brackets are moved from the generally horizontally-disposed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the generally vertically-disposed position shown in F168. 4 and 5.

Itis to be appreciated that the seat may be independently placed in the raised position or collapsed, without the collapsing of the other chair components, the seat being pivoted only to the seat brackets 16, as aforesaid.

It will thus be seen that the invention envisions a Y- type folding chair having arm rests pivoted relative to supports extending upwardly from the rear legs and from novel bracket means which are in turn pivoted relative to the seat and front and rear legs of the chair, all whereby the chair may be folded and unfolded with a minimum of eifort on the part of the user and so as to provide a chair which is readily collapsible substantially in the normal plane of the main frame wherefor it occupies very little space in the folded position. The pivotal and sliding movement of the various parts permits the chair to be readily folded by swinging the rear legs toward the front legs or by tilting the seat or arm rests upwardly.

In the modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 7, the forward arm rest supports are pivoted to the front legs or main frame rather than to the bracket means.

In the fragmentary view illustrated, a pair of support brackets 13% is fixed to each of the front legs 2 at a point immediately below the seat 6.

The cross brace 28, interconnecting the forward arm rest supports 24 of the pair thereof is extendable through and pivotal relative to the support brackets 130.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention and/ or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the below appended claims.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is considered unnecessary, as I have, in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, described the principle of operation of my invention together with the apparatus which I now believe to represent the best embodiments thereof.

The below claims are desired to include, within the scope hereof, all suitable variations, modifications and equivalents by which substantially the results of the invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent devices or means. Limitation hereof should only be made as determined by a proper interpretation of the prior art and the scope of the subjoined claim.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

A Y-type folding chair comprising, a frame member forming front legs at its lower end, rear legs pivoted at their upper ends to said frame member, a seat disposed relative to said frame member and rear legs, a pair of seat brackets pivotally mounted on said front legs of said frame member and on each of said rear legs, said seat being pivotally mounted on said seat brackets, each of said seat brackets having a lowermost laterally and inwardly extending flanged edge underlying and supporting the adjacent side of the seat in the opened position thereof, a pair of arm rests, a pair of forward supports interconnected at their lower extremities and pivotally connected to said front legs of said frame member and having pivoting engagement at their upper extremities with the arm rests of said pair thereof, and a pair-of rearward supports rigidly fixed to each of said rear legs and having pivoting engagement with said seat brackets and with arm rests, said forward and rearward supports permitting swinging movement of said arm rests during folding and unfolding movement of said chair.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent 2,316,484 UNITED STATES PATENTS 01,007

404,836 HfiIWOOd June 11, 1889 1,789,295 Bauer Jan. 20, 1931 21,661/29 2,238,817 Morgan et a1. Apr. 15, 1941 329,624

Maurer Apr. 13, 1943 Hickok Feb. 1, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia June 2, 1930 Italy Sept. 17, 1935 

